How do i wean my 14 month old from breastfeeding? she'll cry until i give in and she doesn't like bottles.?

Question

she has used straws cups and sippy cups for juice. oh and she drinks cows milk too

Answer 1

I agree, she doesn't need a bottle.  As long as she's drinking from a sippy cup, she's fine.  Just cut down one feeding at a time.  Start with the least important, and when she's used to going without that one, drop another feeding.  There probably will be crying, but try to distract her as best as you can (during the day), and at night find a different way to soothe her.  It will be a fight for the first few days (if it's a really important feeding), but she'll get used to it!

I just weaned my son completely at 13 and 1/2 months.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Just stop giving in.  Take her to the store and let her pick her very own big girl cup or sippie and don't give her the breast anymore.  Tell her it's only for babies and she's big girl now.  There's no reason to nurse past 12 months of age anyway.

Answer 3

does she want to nurse all the time?  My daughter nurses in the morning and at night, she's 13 months. She is slowly weaning herself but you just have to start offering her a sippy cup more often instead of just doing the habit of throwing her on the boob lol...that is what has worked for us.

Answer 4

Why wean? If she's still enjoying it, maybe just continue - it's still of benefit to her (see UNICEF guidelines)

Only stop feeding if you feel like you've had enough (I remember how THAT feels!!)

Answer 5

There is no reason to give a baby over 6 months old a bottle, now if your baby really wanted one then that would be a different issue.  She's fine with a sippy cup or cup and straw.

However as to actually weaning from breastfeeding -if that is what you want to do that is fine.  There are many different methods from "don't offer -don't refuse" to clock based methods.  You should never quit suddenly however as this can cause mom to get plugged ducts, mastitis, breast abscess, and even depression (from the rapidly changing hormones).  It also causes undue stress to the baby.  

Do not feel compelled to wean just because your baby is a year old.  There is certainly no need to wean, and there are numerous benefits to both mom and baby to continue.  Breastfeeding continues to be an important source of nutrition -in fact the longer you nurse the more nutrient dense your milk becomes.  Breastmilk contains many nutrients that cow's milk lacks.  The immune support from breastfeeding also continues to be very important as a child's immune system does not reach full capacity until age 6.  Each 6 months mom continues breastfeeding also reduces her risks for many cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc.  Breastfeeding can also reduce the severity of some chronic diseases in the mother including diabetes, fibroids, fibrocystic breast condition, allergies, etc.

What is weaning? When is it time to wean?

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weani...

Weaning: How does it happen?

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/how_w...

Weaning Techniques

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weani...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/eb...

Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY

    * Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.

    * "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."

      -- Mandel 2005

    * "Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."

      -- Dewey 2001

    * In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

          o 29% of energy requirements

          o 43% of protein requirements

          o 36% of calcium requirements

          o 75% of vitamin A requirements

          o 76% of folate requirements

          o 94% of vitamin B12 requirements

          o 60% of vitamin C requirements

      -- Dewey 2001

    * Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.

      -- Persson 1998

    * It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

      Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985).

[...]

Nursing a toddler is NORMAL

    * The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)

    * The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that "Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired." They also note that "If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned." (AAFP 2001)

    * A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)

    * The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1992, WHO 2002).

    * Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).

References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]

MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy

    * Extended nursing delays the return of fertility in some women by suppressing ovulation (References).

    * Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (References). Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk.

    * Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References).

    * Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer (References).

    * Breastfeeding reduces the risk of endometrial cancer (References).

    * Breastfeeding protects against osteoporosis. During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by 1 to 2 percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependent on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. (References).

    * Breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (References).

    * Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (References).

    * Breastfeeding moms tend to lose weight easier (References).

A Natural Age of Weaning

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.ht...

ne often hears that the worldwide average age of weaning is 4.2 years, but this figure is neither accurate nor meaningful. A survey of 64 "traditional" studies done prior to the 1940s showed a median duration of breastfeeding of about 2.8 years, but with some societies breastfeeding for much shorter, and some for much longer. It is meaningless, statistically, to speak of an average age of weaning worldwide, as so many children never nurse at all, or their mothers give up in the first few days, or at six weeks when they go back to work. It is true that there are still many societies in the world where children are routinely breastfed until the age of four or five years or older, and even in the United States, some children are nursed for this long and longer. In societies where children are allowed to nurse "as long as they want" they usually self-wean, with no arguments or emotional trauma, between 3 and 4 years of age. This interest also stemmed from the realization that other animals have "natural" ages of weaning, around 8 weeks for dogs, 8-12 months for horses, etc. Presumably these animals don't have cultural beliefs about when it would be appropriate.

Answer 6

You don't need to try and introduce a bottle anyway. Children shouldn't have bottles past the age of one, it can cause damage to their teeth. Just start putting the milk into her sippy cups and wean her this way.

Answer 7

That is because she knows that you will give in to her.  Unfortunately you are going to have to get tough with her and not give in.  Offer her a sippy cup instead.

Answer 8

My daughter was like that too at around 10 months. She would rather not drink at all than taking that bottle.

So I would breastfeed her and then maybe an hour later, when she was not too hungry, I would try to give her the bottle. She would take a few sips and eventually that was the only thing she was taking all day. I would breastfeed her at night until she started refusing the breast at night and only wanted the bottle.  

Answer 9

Do one feeding at a time and don't cave in and give her the breast!

I weaned both my children directly to sippy cups.  The feedings before naps was the easiest because I would offer them the cup and if they refused I put them down and left the room for a few minutes and came back in and offered them the cup.  After a few days, they finally took the cup.

Just remain consistant and offer it teh same time every day.  If they refuse do not under any circumstances offer them the breast as soon as they refuse the cup or they will associate getting what they want when they don't take the cup.

Good luck!